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Police said passersby spotted the boy walking east in the breakdown lane of Route 101 about 4:15 a.m.

Several drivers called police, and a few pulled over to try to help. But state police said the boy was apparently frightened and ran into the woods.

Fremont police found the boy, who was able to give them his name and tell them his age. He was reunited with his parents a short time later. Police said his parents had been asleep and didn't know he was gone.

"Route 101's a dangerous road if you're a pedestrian, never mind if you're a young child in the dark without any adult supervision," state police Lt. Chris Vetter said. "Hopefully, we're creating a situation where this doesn't happen again, because obviously, the parents, I imagine they were terrified. I know I would have been."

Police said there's no reason to believe that the parents did anything wrong.